Syracuse, NY - Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened the competition for eight cities that want to rebuild neighborhoods with $20 million seized from big banks involved in the housing foreclosure crisis.

Schneiderman announced today that applications are due Sept. 15. The money will be awarded in two rounds.

The Syracuse/Onondaga County region is eligible to compete with seven other regions that started land banks in 2011. The land bank, called the Greater Syracuse Property Development Corp., is a separate public authority set up to take ownership of vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties and turn them over to new private owners.